There’s something to be said for going against the best day in and day out.
Such is the case for new Denver Broncos receiver Jaylen Waddle. The new offensive weapon has the opportunity each day in practice to go against Pat Surtain II. This isn’t new for the former teammates at Alabama. But the fact that Waddle gets to work against the best cornerback in the NFL will make him better. There’s also the benefit of Surtain going against one of the better receivers in the league as well.
At least on Wednesday, Waddle got the better of Surtain with a 60-yard touchdown from Bo Nix.
After practice, Surtain was asked how difficult Waddle is to defend, especially with his ability to start-and-stop so quickly:
“It’s very difficult as a (defensive back). It makes you think for sure. It makes you think (about) what route he could be running, and it doesn’t make him one-dimensional when he’s able to stop and start like that. It’s definitely tough, but it’s fun to compete against that.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton echoed the sentiment that these battles in practice make Surtain and Waddle better.
“Anytime you’ve got better players competing, you’re sharpening the skills, and you’re testing them,” Payton said to the media on Wednesday. “The group has tremendous respect for each other, and it makes both parties better.”
What’s becoming evident over the course of training camp is the rapport that Nix and Waddle are developing. When you add a playmaker and weapon like Waddle to Denver’s offense, that was the expectation. And there’s still room to grow since they haven’t played in a game yet. We’ll see if that changes this week against the Green Bay Packers.
“I think we have a lot of time still,” Payton said to the media about the chemistry between Nix and Waddle. “We have good work this week, this weekend, and there’s been a lot of time on task already. We’re being smart with it, and he’s coming along really well. So we’ll see how this week unfolds.”
At least in practice, we’re seeing glimmers of what Waddle brings to Nix and the Broncos offense. Add in the fact that Waddle is going to Surtain, and that will only make him and the offense better.
“It’s been great,” Nix said to the media on Tuesday when asked about what Waddles adds to the offense. “He’s an elite player, and he makes our room better. With him out there on the field, just again, (he) adds a different level of explosiveness and just allows other guys to be better. ‘Court’ (Courtland Sutton) can be better. Jaylen’s obviously going to make plays. Pat (Bryant) and Troy (Franklin), those guys are going to be there, and then the rest of the guys are going to fall in line.”
